APMG Change Management Foundation key terms

A model describing the typical emotional stages people pass through during significant change, often shown as shock, denial, frustration or resistance, depression, experimentation and acceptance. It helps change leaders anticipate and support individual reactions rather than treat them as disloyalty.

William Bridges' model that separates situational change from the psychological transition it triggers, describing three phases: ending and letting go, the neutral zone of uncertainty, and a new beginning. It explains why people can struggle long after the change is announced.

The fear of being incompetent or looking foolish while acquiring new skills. If it outweighs the motivation to change, people resist, so it must be lowered through support, practice and safety while the case for change is made.

The discomfort people feel when they believe that failing to change will be worse than staying as they are. It creates the motivation to move, but only works when learning anxiety is simultaneously reduced.

The mental discomfort caused by holding conflicting beliefs, or by acting in ways that contradict one's values. People reduce it either by changing behaviour or by reinterpreting information, which can look like resistance.

Any behaviour that slows, blocks or diverts an intended change, ranging from open objection to passive disengagement. It is usually a symptom of unmet concerns such as loss, uncertainty or lack of capability rather than simple stubbornness.

The drive to act because the activity itself is interesting, meaningful or satisfying, rather than for external reward or pressure. It tends to be more durable during change because it does not depend on incentives being maintained.

The drive to act in order to obtain an external outcome such as pay, status or praise, or to avoid punishment. It can move behaviour quickly but may fade once the reward or pressure is removed.

The unwritten set of expectations between an employee and the organisation about mutual obligations, such as fairness, security and development. Change that appears to break these expectations provokes strong emotional reactions.

A personality dimension describing how far people believe outcomes depend on their own actions (internal) or on outside forces such as luck or management (external). People with an external locus often react more passively to change.

Virginia Satir's model of how performance dips into chaos during change before recovering at a higher level. It highlights the need for support, information and time while people are in the chaotic middle phase.

A goal-oriented model of individual change with five sequential outcomes: awareness of the need, desire to participate, knowledge of how to change, ability to perform, and reinforcement to sustain the change.

The shared values, beliefs, norms, symbols and behaviours that shape how members of an organisation act. It influences whether a change is accepted, absorbed into routine practice or quietly undermined.

A framework by Johnson and Scholes that maps an organisation's paradigm through stories, rituals and routines, symbols, structures, control systems and power structures. It reveals what currently supports or blocks a proposed change.

Kurt Lewin's description of change as unfreezing the current state, making the change, then refreezing to embed it. It is a reminder that change needs preparation and consolidation, not just the action stage in the middle.

A tool that lists the driving forces pushing toward a change and the restraining forces holding it back, then weighs them. It helps decide whether to strengthen drivers or remove barriers before implementation.

A staged leadership model for large-scale change: urgency, guiding coalition, vision, communication, empowerment, short-term wins, consolidation and anchoring in culture. The stages are interdependent and skipping early ones commonly causes failure.

A shared belief among stakeholders that action is needed now, not later. Genuine urgency comes from credible evidence and stories about the consequences of inaction, and it fuels early momentum for change.

A diagnostic framework linking strategy, structure, systems, staff, skills, style and shared values. It assumes that changing one element requires adjusting the others for alignment, or the change will not stick.

A framework by Balogun and Hope Hailey for designing change by considering the change context, the organisational and individual enablers and barriers, and the range of intervention options available to change leaders.

Incremental change is a series of small adjustments within existing structures and assumptions. Transformational change is a fundamental shift in strategy, structure or culture that affects the whole organisation and how people work.

The process of defining, tracking and confirming that the expected benefits of a change are actually delivered and sustained after implementation. It links change activity to measurable organisational outcomes rather than to delivery milestones alone.

The senior leader who legitimises a change, secures resources, removes obstacles and visibly champions it. Active, consistent sponsorship is one of the strongest predictors of whether a change succeeds.

A person or group responsible for designing, driving or facilitating a change, either internal (managers, specialists) or external (consultants). Effective change agents need credibility, access to decision makers and political awareness.

Any individual or group that can affect, or is affected by, a change, including employees, customers, suppliers, unions and regulators. Each may hold different interests, influence and attitudes toward the change.

The systematic identification of stakeholders and assessment of their interest, power, attitude and likely impact on a change. Its output is used to decide engagement priorities, messages and approaches for each group.

A matrix that positions stakeholders by how much influence they have and how much interest they show, suggesting strategies such as manage closely, keep satisfied, keep informed or monitor. It is a simple basis for stakeholder strategy.

A model by Mitchell, Agle and Wood that ranks stakeholders by their power, legitimacy and urgency. The more attributes a stakeholder possesses, the higher their priority for attention and engagement.

The purposeful process of building and maintaining relationships with stakeholders through dialogue and involvement, so they can contribute to and support a change rather than merely be informed about it.

A structured schedule defining what will be communicated about a change, to whom, when, through which channels and by whom, plus how feedback will be gathered and acted upon.

How much information and emotional cue a communication channel can convey. Face-to-face conversation is richest and a written notice is least, so channel choice should match the complexity and sensitivity of the message.

Passing messages down through management layers, from senior leaders to frontline teams. It risks distortion and dilution at each level, so it works best when combined with direct channels and feedback loops.

An exchange in which stakeholders can question, react and influence, not just receive messages. It builds understanding and commitment rather than mere compliance, and it surfaces concerns early enough to act on them.

Anything that distorts or blocks a message, such as jargon, filtering through hierarchy, information overload, cultural differences or mistrust. Identifying barriers early shapes better message design and channel choice.

The process of identifying what will change for processes, systems, roles and people, and how much disruption is expected, so that support, training and mitigation can be planned before go-live.

The difference between the skills, knowledge and behaviours people currently have and those the change requires. It drives the design of training, coaching and other support interventions.

The extent to which individuals and the organisation are willing and able to adopt a change, including awareness of the need, capability, capacity to absorb it and supportive leadership.

Systematic gathering of evidence about awareness, capability, capacity and commitment before launch, to identify gaps and decide whether to proceed, delay or add support.

The amount of change an organisation, team or individual can absorb alongside day-to-day work without overload. Exceeding it causes initiative fatigue, dropped activities and higher failure rates.

How far new ways of working continue after the project ends, supported by embedded processes, rewards, leadership attention and culture. It distinguishes lasting change from temporary compliance.

An organisation's enduring ability to sense the need for change and to implement it repeatedly and well, built from skills, processes, leadership behaviour and a willingness to learn from experience.